1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to advertising in multimedia environments and, in particular, to a computer system for dynamically incorporating content such as advertisements into multimedia systems.
2. Background
Advertising revenue paid by producers of goods and services helps fund broadcast, print, and other types of media. Advertising revenue can partially or completely underwrite forms of communication that otherwise would be cost prohibitive, or such revenue can even exceed communication expenses and generate profits. For example, the costs of running television and radio stations are largely paid by advertisers purchasing commercials for broadcast. This, in turn, allows multiple stations to compete in the market, providing increased selection for viewers and listeners. If advertisements were not part of the content delivered to consumers, far fewer television channels and radio programs likely would be available for the consumer to enjoy. The same holds true for magazines, newspapers, and other forms of communication.
Advertising on the Internet is still in its infancy, however certain guidelines exist. Oftentimes, pages on the world-wide-web include a “banner ad” section for advertising, which typically surrounds the pages “intended” content. Advertisements can be placed in this section by the page developer or by a third party. Typically, this type of advertisement is called a “click-thru” and, if a web user clicks the mouse while having the pointer on the advertisement, the user will be automatically directed to the site of the advertiser. These ads provide revenue to offset costs of producing and presenting the web page that is hosting the banner ads.
Advertising is so pervasive in our modern society that it has become part of our culture, and we have come to expect advertising in our lives. It seems out of place when it is not there. Examples of this can be seen in video games that attempt to present a real-world situation. Oftentimes, game developers will include advertisements in games, such as billboards placed in the outfield of baseball games, or advertising and signage in car road-racing type games. Occasionally an advertising blimp can even be found. These in-game advertisements improve the sense of reality in the game, thereby contributing to the life-like game experience. Sometimes a game manufacturer places advertisements for itself in these places. At other times, the manufacturer may actually create false or nonsense type advertising to maintain these life-like qualities of having advertisements in the games.
Placing static advertisements in or around video games is one known way to include advertisements. In addition to the above examples, where the ad images are “burned” into the game at pre-production time, other advertising techniques for video games are known. Some video games place ads in a border region around a game play window. If the game play window connects to the Internet, some portals contain the banner ads as discussed above or other types of advertisements. Another technique is to download ad images prior to game play, and then insert the downloaded ad into an “ad-space” specifically created inside the game to display the ad. An example of this technique can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,664 to Ebisawa. While these methods install ads in video games, they have inherent limitations. First, they distract from game play by either reducing the viewing area of the gaming experience; or by forcing the user to wait while ads are downloaded before game play begins. In the case of ads “burned into” the game code, they are incapable of being changed. Additionally, with the case of “burned” ads, there is no way for an advertiser to control their brand. There is no way to insure that their brand will be presented in a manner pleasing to them and no way to remove it from the game if they are dissatisfied with the brand placement or effectiveness.
As new games are developed and more game developers compete for the same game users, game developers strive to create the best gaming experience. These methods of enhancing the game experience come at an increased development price, however. If game developers continue to pass the entire cost of game development to the game users, many will not be able to afford to purchase the games. Additionally, some games can be played over the Internet. Some game companies charge a lower initial cost for a computer game, but then charge a subscription fee to play with others over the Internet. Many people using the Internet refuse to pay for subscription fees, and will be dissuaded from purchasing a game that forces them to pay subscription fees in order to play.
Currently there exists no way to provide computer content deliverers a non-intrusive mechanism for offsetting some of their development costs by placing advertisements within their content and receiving the advertising revenue therefrom.